to think there is a huge discrepency between what unskilled men and unskilled women are likely to earn?

[ballinacup]

Just musing on this as I watch the bins get collected.

I've never seen a female bin worker, they're all blokes. A friend that works for our local council has previously informed me that they earn roughly between 20-30k per annum.

Now for that they have to deal with bins in the height of summer, which quite frankly must be rank. I certainly wouldn't want to do it.

Conversely, I've never met a male home carer (excluding those that care for relatives), they're all women. They have to deal with wee, poo and vomit. They may be verbally and physically abused by confused patients. And yet they earn NMW.

I've just used these two jobs as examples, I'm sure there are many more. But AIBU in thinking an unskilled/unqualified man can outearn his equivalent female worker far, far too easily?

You're quite right - but in recent years there has been a flood of equal pay cases from women in these sort of jobs (the biggest one involved Birmingham City Council, I think) so I think pay rates are beginning to move closer together.

Traditionally of course this comes from the assumption that a man with a job will probably be supporting a family, whereas employed women were supported by their father/husband and just wanted to earn a little extra for clothes. I'm not sure this has ever been true but it's bloody shameful that these attitudes still affect pay scales today.

Depends what you class as unskilled.

You rarely see female warehouse operatives which is a min wage job.
Men are more common in factory work - min wage.
Men are more likely to be street cleaners - min wage.

Women on the other hand are more common in offices - usually above min wage.

I suppose that's the theory behind it Mooncup, but like you say, it's fairly hideous that it's still going on in 2014.

Objection, I agree about factory work however, most admin jobs nowadays require GCSEs and NVQs so I disagree that they are unskilled.

Hmm housekeeper 12-15 net ph plus gifts, holudays etc if you are lucky

house cleaner (mostly women) 15ph V office cleaning (men and women)

Painter/decorator, good money, nowdays there are many women too

My DM is a cleaner laquitar, she earns NMW.

I should say SE not working for agency. This is what se cleaners can earn in london. I have friends who pay that.

Ah, fair enough laquitar, I'm NE which probably makes a huge difference.

Yes as MooncupGoddess says this has been recognised in many places and public bodies e.g. Councils, police forces have been implementing pay regrading projects.

www.totaljobs.com/JobSearch/JobDetails.aspx?JobId=59676240

Refuse Collection £15k-£17k pa starting salary.

Within one organisation for example a council, it was recognised that binmen and handymen were being paid more than cleaners and carers and dinner ladies.

YANBU. Refuse collection is heavily unionised and generally involves a lot of paid overtime and moaning about how hard the job is. Compare to grooms in the equine industry - mainly female, hard physical labour on NMW and not mechanised.

Men are good at organising themselves into protected sectors which pay more than the skills should justify. Now that they bo long dominate the professions, there's a trend to licensing and therefore protecting and making more expensive male dominated jobs - eg small electrical jobs in the home.